worth it? Discontinued

Chapter 2

As I slowly open my eyes, the brightness of the sun shines into them. The memories from yesterday evening rush into my head. Even though everything is still hurting, I slowly sit up. In the corner of my room is a mirror where I can see my reflection. I feel utterly disgusted. My left eye is badly bruised and I have numerous little cuts on my face, don't forget the dried blood that's on my face. I sigh and make my way over to the bathroom, time for a shower.

I walk over to the bathroom door, which is located near the end of the upstairs hallway. We only have one bathroom in the house. When my feet hit the cold tiles, a shiver went up my spine. My clothes fall to the ground, and I am finally able to see how bruised my ribs are. It's not good, my ribs are black and blue. And they are very painful. I step into the shower and sigh in relief when the water hits my body.

I'm back in my room and on my phone, it's almost time for me to leave for school. It's not bad for me because I have nice friends. They are beyond amazing. What's bad for me is that I can't cover up my black eye very well with makeup, so I'm going to have to lie to my friends and teachers.

This is what I'm wearing:

I wear my earphones and listen to my favourite music. On my way out, I pick an apple to have for breakfast. When I close the front door, the wind blows into my hair and face. Because of my ribs, the 20-minute walk to school is now 30 minutes.

Since our dad left everything went downhill, we used to live closer to the school. When our father left, Layla and I were 9 years old. Ever since that incident, my mother has favoured Layla over me, I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's because she's more attractive than me.

I finally arrive at school, and I am making my way to my locker. At my locker, I see my best friends, Iris and Olly. While we make our way to our first class of the day, we begin catching up about our weekend. Then Olly asked, "What happened to your eye, Am?" "Yeah, I noticed too, are you ok?", Iris adds. I prepared for this at home, "It's really stupid, but I ran into my door". Olly and Iris gave me a look that said, 'Are you serious?' "I was tired, and it was late at night", I add, trying to laugh it off. Iris says, "You're so clumsy," while also laughing. Olly joins in with the laughter.

I'm sitting with my friends at lunch when my sister walks to our table. "Hey everyone, how are you all?", Layla asks and she doesn't even give us time to respond. "Do you have any lunch money for me, Amara? I forgot." Olly and iris looked really annoyed at her. I start looking around in my bag when I hear Iris say to me"You aren't really giving 'your' money again to her. You basically give your money to Layla every day. You earned that money, so you shouldn't give it all to Layla." I stop my movements. The only reason I give Layla my money is that if I don't, she will tell my mom. "Mind your own business Isla, now give my money, Amara, " My sister says annoyed. "Her name's Iris." Olly says "And Amara isn't giving you shit. You should go find your own job. Now shoo." Layla ignores them and holds her hand out to me. I give her money slowly. However, Iris quickly takes it from my hands. Layla lets out an annoyed sigh and walks back from where she came from, the popular table. "You didn't have to do that," I say. When I come home, I'll be in deep trouble. Mom will kill me. "Your sister is always asking you for money, and you are too kind to say no. You work four days a week at that diner, so you should be able to keep your money.  Then we can go shopping this weekend." Iris says. I'm absolutely  addicted to shopping. And the mall is absolutely gorgeous. "Yes, shopping!", Olly says, "You in?". What does she think? "Obviously, you both know I love shopping."

I go to the bathroom before my math class starts to take some painkillers. I don't have math with Iris or Olly, so I'm left without anyone to work with. That's really disappointing.
Halfway through class, the speaker in the corner of the classroom calls, "Layla and Amara Halstead report  to the office, please." It makes me uncomfortable when everyone in the classroom turns their head to me. I get up from my seat and make my way from the back of the classroom to the front. All the students are teasing me with 'ooh, someone's in trouble.' But what could I have done to be in trouble? I'm not sure what I did, but I no longer smoke at school since I was caught with a cigarette once in 9th grade, so that's not it.

I knock on the principal's office and was told to come in. Layla is already seated in one of the chairs in front of the principal's desk. "Principal Rowen says to me to take a seat. In the corner of the room, there stands a woman with a tight ponytail. When I make eye contact with her, she gives me an apologetic look. I avert my gaze quickly. Am I the only one who hates making eye contact with people?  After I'm sat, our principal starts talking again, "Both of you are probably wondering why you're here. You're not in trouble, so don't worry. I'm afraid I have some disappointing news to share with you." There is an uncomfortable silence, which Layla breaks. "And what is that news, exactly?" Principal Rowen looks very apologetically at us and finally starts talking again: "This morning there was a car accident, involving your mother." He pauses again. Why isn't he continuing to speak? This is very annoying. I want to know how my mom is. "What? Is she currently in the hospital?" Layla asks in a panicked and distressed state. The woman who had been standing in the corner now comes forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm Ms Cappel from child service. I am here to tell you that your mother died in a car accident," she said. There was complete silence. I am unsure how I feel. Relieved? Sad? I feel sad and regretful for feeling relieved and happy that she's gone. Even though she wasn't a good mother, she was still my mother. Layla starts crying next to me. The woman, Ms Cappel, puts a comforting hand on her shoulder and says, "I'm sorry for your loss." I don't respond, I simply stare at Layla while she's crying.

What is going to happen to us now?

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it. Please comment and vote if you want me to continue!